Song of Phoenix
by Mishee
Summary: Mia and the Ronins team up with an unexpected ally to unlock the final secret of the poem and to find the last guardian...


**Disclaimer: Ronin Warriors is © to Graz Entertainment & Ocean Studios. All characters mentioned in this fic--with the exception of the guardians and all the villains--belong to _them, the lucky dogs... ^-^; Permission is needed to use my characters (Although I'd most probably say yes and be tickled to death that someone would actually do that *grin*). This fanfic is made solely for my own entertainment purposes, as well as for the entertainment of others. I'm not making any money or profit out of this. All rights are reserved. ^_^; Comments and other such stuff can be directed to me at Kibonoko@yahoo.com._**

**Author's Note: "Song of Phoenix" is the fifth chapter to my already ongoing six-part series _The Ronin Guardians_. As some of you may (or may not) remember, "Candle In the Night" was the first piece of fanfiction I wrote that related the tale of the legendary Ronin Guardians, maiden protectors chosen especially to watch over the Ronin armors and their bearers. However, to my surprise, I began to receive mass e-mails after and even _before_ CITN ended from readers, begging me to reveal the other guardians. And so, yielding to all the e-mails I've received, I have decided to continue the legacy of the Ronin guardians. As I've mentioned before, "Song of Phoenix" is the fifth story to this series, which basically means that the last guardian will be found here. I didn't skip the other guardians' stories; I just thought the last guardian's story was so much more interesting—I couldn't stop myself, really ;) Anyway, that should be about it. I've tried to write this story to the best of my ability so that new readers won't _exactly_ be required to read CITN of the other 3+ stories preceding this one in able to understand the whole dang thing. Just in case, though, I'd like to suggest that totally new readers read the quick **Background** information below. It's nothing, really. Just a few quirks here and there. Oh, and SPOLERSSPOLIERS warning! Skip the *** version if you don't want to know the spoilers. That should be about it from me, now. I'll leave you now to your reading enjoyment. ^___^**

**Background: About two years before this story (Song of Phoenix) begins, Mia and the Ronins quite accidentally meet an orphan named Quinn, whose mysterious past leads them to discovering an ancient rhyme that closely relates to the Ronins' own poem. After a turn of events, it is discovered that Quinn is actually a guardian, a maiden soldier chosen by the Ancients to protect the bearer of Halo. This revelation leads to several violent battles, after which is revealed that a new enemy—the Master—is after Quinn. After a somewhat disastrous battle, however, the guardians of Halo "dies", much to everyone's despair, but not before killing the Master at the same time. For solace, and with high hopes to avenge the death of Halo's guardian, Mia and the others turn back to the poem and begin the long task of discovering the guardians and uniting them. *** Skip the rest of this if you don't want SPOILERS! *** Three more are found after Quinn—Lili Hirokoshi (Torrent's guardian), Sayaka Hamaii (Hardrock's guardian), and Kyoko Yamano (Strata's guardian). Lili is, at the moment, in her home in the United States. Sayaka is vacationing in Kyoto. Kyoko is the only one present with the Ronins. Because she is only vacationing with them at present, however, she leaves shortly for her own home in Tokyo.**

Song of Phoenix By: Ki-chan 

**( I )**

Nightmare 

He was in the dream again.

                Total darkness surrounded him fully, rendering him unable to see even an inch away from him. He felt himself swallowed—as if actually a part—of the shadowed void, unable to see or even hear anything. Yet…it was so uncanny; he didn't feel scared. He didn't feel threatened or comforted, either. He simply felt nothing. No happiness, no grief. Simply…nothing.

                Then, a sudden flash, one that blinded him for a second's notice. When his sight was finally restored, he grimly noted the flickering shadows of red and orange light that beckoned faintly to him from the distance. Where one might have felt relief upon seeing light after being in darkness, he only felt dread, for he had dreamt this dream before. 

He knew what the light would bring.

He fought against the Goliath-like urge to go to the light, knowing already full well what would happen if he did. But, it was as if his legs had taken a mind of their own, for they began to move on their own free will toward the flickering light. Unable to fight his own body, he finally surrendered, swallowing the dread that formed in his throat as he ventured closer and closer to the light.

Another bright flash momentarily blinded him as he finally—forcefully—stepped into the red and orange light. As he struggled to regain his sight, the sounds of crackling fire reached his ears. He groped about, spots dancing in his eyes. The sound of crackling fire only became louder. He could even already feel the searing heat of the flames he couldn't see as they danced dangerously close to his bare, exposed skin…

Forcing his eyes open wide and blinking away the remaining spots that clouded his vision, he quickly jumped away from the inferno, dodging the licking flames. With his restored sight, he could now see that he was surrounded by flames. Fires burned all around him, consuming the bamboo-like huts that stood surrounding him. Screams emanated from several of them, full proof that some—if not all—the homes were still inhabited, even as they burned to the ground.

Horrified, he ran around each structure, trying in vain to rescue at least _one occupant. For all he did, however, he was unsuccessful, for as soon as he ventured close enough to enter a hut, the wild flames would jump at him, burning his skin and scorching his eyebrows, thus driving him away from the home altogether. Soon, the terrified screams of men, women—and even children—reached an ear-splitting volume as the hot, raging flames consumed them alive. Those who weren't fortunate to die of asphyxiation from the choking, dense smoke now faced the more painful, torturous death of being burned __alive. Within moments, the air reeked of the putrid odor of burning human flesh._

Thoroughly sickened by the sight and by the fact that he couldn't save any of the occupants, he staggered away from the grisly scene and into an open clearing—the village square, he presumed—where he was met by an even more ghastly site.

Chaos everywhere. Men of all ages, each carrying various, primitive weapons of all sorts, threw themselves against the soldiers of the opposing forces. War-like cries drowned out all other sounds as both sides gouged themselves in violent battle. The wounded lay sprawled all over the ground, their bodies bloodied and battered. Some bodies were mutilated beyond recovery. Most had limbs or body parts missing.

The women who had been fortunate enough to escape the fire now ran about madly, some screaming, some trying to silence their yelling, terrified children in their arms. The unlucky ones were cornered by enemy soldiers, who raped them openly and viciously murdered them after they had had their fill. Even children weren't exempted from the violence: the soldiers used them for target practice as they ran about the scene, frightened. Others were simply cut down to bloody pieces by a few precise strokes with a sword.

Unable to move, his body frozen entirely, he could only watch helplessly as the villages were cut to ribbons by the enemy forces. He suddenly noted that the darkness he had earlier passed had now returned. It had crawled into the scene unnoticed, almost like a creeping shadow, and was now consuming the dead remains of the battle that had just taken place. Everything that the shadow touched, disappeared: all light, all sound, _everything._

He was watching the shadow as it sucked everything into its dark void when suddenly, from out of nowhere, two figures materialized from the scene, one tall, the other short. Both were joined hand in hand as they ran from the violence, away from the fires, away from the consuming darkness.

As they ran, the shadow continued to consume, swallowing foliage, earth, people, anything it could touch. Soon, only utter silence dominated the entire scene, and all that remained—all that could be heard, in fact—were the sounds of heavy, short gasps as the two young girls—as he could now easily make out—continued to run from the darkness.

But the shadow was far too fast for them. Within seconds, the pulsating dark mass had caught up with the young straggling girl—looking to be no more than seven or eight years old—who was worn out from the exertion. The shadow nipped on her free ankle, then went on to swallow it completely. The young girl gasped in surprise and went down with a strangled cry.

Upon hearing her companion's shriek, the older girl, appearing to be about twelve years old, whirled around and quickly grabbed the younger girl's arm.

"Kara-san!" the older girl gasped as she struggled to pull the younger girl free. Kara-san began to cry as the darkness consumed both her ankles and began to reach for her knees.

"Rei-rei, don't leggo! Don't leggo!" Kara-san sobbed, tightening her hold on the other girl. 'Rei-rei' bit her lip, her tiny frame struggling to hold against the tugging shadow.

"Rei-rei!" Kara-san shrieked as the darkness reached her waist.

"Hold on!" was her sharp reply as she anchored herself firmly against the ground and tugged with all her strength. All her actions were in vain, however, as Kara-san's body began to disappear little by little. Rei-rei's eyes widened.

"No!" she howled, grabbing what little remained of the young girl's arm. "Kara-san—hold on!"

"Don't leggo!" Kara-san's terrified scream came out as a gurgle as the darkness covered her throat and drowned out her voice. "Rei-r—" Kara-san's head disappeared completely and her arm went limp under Rei-rei's tight grasp. 

"No!" Rei-rei yelled as she fought to grab hold of Kara-san's arm, which was beginning to disappear also. Within a few seconds, she herself found herself wading in an elbow-deep sea of darkness. "NO! Let her go!"

But the shadow wouldn't let her go, and it soon took Kara-san completely. It then rose a full ten feet and waved wildly about, as if celebrating the fact that it had swallowed the young girl. Rei-rei groped wildly at the shadow, trying in vain to find where Kara-san had disappeared to.

"Let her go!" she demanded, her shriek reaching a magnitude that had the potential to break windows. "LET HER GO!" 

The darkness reeled wildly at her tone, then—to his and her utmost surprise—disappeared completely. It had not even attempted to swallow Rei-rei at all; it had simply…disappeared. The young girl now found herself alone amidst the charred skeleton remains of her village home. Slowly, she stood up, taking in the hideous scene with large, somewhat frightened eyes. She stared at the black ashes of what _used to stand as homes. She glanced at the great amounts of blood that lay soaking in the earth, left over still from the battle. She backed away from the scene, making small choking sounds._

Having watched the entire scene unnoticed, he could not forget the look he saw on the girl's face just then. He couldn't even describe it. It was a look that voiced a thousand emotions at once. It was a look of disbelief, of shock, of horror, of anger, of despair, all at the same time. A look of dreams lost, of a torn heart. Yet, behind the hundreds of emotions that he saw on her face, one fact clearly shone through; the fact that she had lost everything—her family, her friends, everyone and everything she had come to love and care about—everything that ever meant anything to her, within the time span of only a few minutes. _Everything…_

Seemingly still in shock, she fell to her knees, staring dazedly at the ghastly, nauseating scene before her.

"No…" she whispered feverently. "N-no—it _can't!" Jumping to her feet, she shook her head desperately, unable to comprehend what had just occurred._

"No!" she yelled, her tone louder. "Y-you can't have her! Give her back! GIVE HER BACK!!" She began to run through the remains of her village. "Give them back! Give Kara-san back! YOU CAN'T HAVE HER! YOU CAN'T HAVE ANY OF THEM!!" She seemed almost hysterical by this time. "_GIVE THEM BACK!!"_

Moved with pity toward Rei-rei, he ventured close to the grieving girl, whose back was toward him. He paused, his arm half-raised, then gently reached over and put a hand on her shoulder. Upon feeling his touch, the girl whirled about viciously, eyes flashing.

"Give them back!" she demanded immediately, her tiny hands tightening on his arm. He blinked, staring at her dark, flashing eyes, her half-desperate face. Finally, he gave a barely perceptible shake of his head.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, truly meaning it. "I…I wish I could…" He could feel her eyes burning holes through his own. "…but I _can't…"_

Rei-rei stared at him, disbelief once again riddling her face. Then, as his words seeped in, a flash of anger lit her eyes.

"You're lying!" she shrieked, tackling him to the ground and pummeling him as well as any ten-year-old girl could. "Liar! Give them back! Give Kara-san back!"

"Rei-rei!" he objected, easily dodging her flailing fists.

"Give them back!" she demanded, continuing her attack, weak though as it was. "_Give her back!!"_

Feeling the stinging blow on his face as she slapped him, he finally reached over and took both arms firmly on his own, pinning her kicking legs under his knees.

"I _can't," he finally said to her as gently, but as firmly, as he could. To his surprise, both her arms and legs went limp against his own as she collapsed against him, sobbing piteously._

"_Why?" she croaked, voice tremulous and small. "Why did they take them? Why did they take Kara-san?" She buried her face on his chest, tears wetting his shirt. "__Doushte? Why..?"_

Moved almost to tears by her grieving state, he allowed her to cry on his chest for a moment before attempting—hesitantly—to wrap his arms around her for comfort. Upon his touch however, Rei-rei suddenly stiffened. Pushing herself away from his grasp, she got to her feet, scowling as she hurriedly wiped the tears still running from her face.

"Stay away!" she commanded. Without another word, she turned sharply and ran from him, disappearing into the forest surrounding the village. He blinked in surprise at his now empty arms, puzzled and utterly confused by the strange girl's behavior. However, driven for his unexplained concern over her, as well as fear that the shadow would return to consume her as well, he got to his feet and staggered after her.

"Rei-rei!" His shout echoed eerily all around him as he entered the forest. Dark trees loomed all around him, their gnarled trunks seemingly trying to reach out to grab him. "Rei-rei!"

It had turned dark again, but not as dark as before. Strange sounds emanated from within the dark forest as he stepped over the branches and leaves that lay scattered on the ground, crunching loudly on the foliage. He glanced uneasily around him, shivering slightly. _Where was she?_

Suddenly…footsteps! Pattering footsteps, the sound of running. Perking up his ears, he followed the sound like a magnet. A dark figure suddenly flew past him, disappearing again into the trees.

"Rei-rei?" he panted, still following the sound. "Rei-r—" He suddenly stopped and gasped as he found himself in a dimly lit clearing. A few meters away from him, four dark, armored figures hung limply by their wrists on four trees.

He stared at the scene, squinting his eyes to see more clearly. He had never seen this part of his dream before. Just as he was about to step closer to get a better view, the four trees suddenly illuminated with an eerie blue glow. As the dim light brightened over the dark scene, and the figures became more recognizable, he could not help stepping back in horror. Hanging in chains, apparently battered and bruised, their arms and ankles bound tightly, Quinn, Lillian, Sayaka, and Kyoko—four out of five of the legendary Ronin guardians that have already been found—dangled precariously against the trees' trunks. All four were unconscious.

He shook his head, confused yet horrified at the same time. Determined to help them, he took a step forward—and found that his body could not, or rather _would not, respond to his commands. He was completely frozen once again._

'No!' he thought desperately, his eyes returning to stare at the guardians. As he continued to watch helplessly, he noticed—to his horror—that the consuming shadow had returned and was now surrounding the four trees to which the guardians were hanging from. It began its descent up hungrily, reaching out to devour their armor at their helpless state. Panic rose to his throat and he struggled against his invisible bonds. He couldn't let the shadow take them—he just _couldn't._

But he couldn't move. He couldn't even speak. Frustrated and angry beyond everything, he watched helplessly as the pulsating dark mass crawled up the trunk and to the guardians' ankles. He seethed in frustration as the living shadow surrounded their armors, fully devouring it until it looked as if they each were wearing** black armors instead of their regular colored ones. The guardians—despite their unconscious state—shifted from their chained positions in obvious pain. The shadow was now eating through their sub-armors, depriving their bodies of all modesties. As the last of their armors disappeared, the shadow retreated back to the trunks of the trees, as if swallowing their armors had weakened it.**

_Are they still alive? Straining hard, he saw that each girl was still breathing. They shivered slightly, their naked figures glowing fluorescent white, their bare skins susceptible to the cold chill that blew past them. Blood dripped from their chained wrists down to their shoulders, past their breasts and abdomen, and down their legs, finally ending its course by falling to the earth in small rivers. The wind began to pick up around him, scattering leaves and branches around his rooted feet. For a moment, he thought he could hear the sound of menacing laughter echoing around him. However, the sound quickly faded away._

Seemingly strengthened by the strong winds, the shadow pulsated back to life and began to crawl up toward the guardians with renewed intensity. Fully alarmed by this time, he began to struggle against himself, wanting to cry out, to move, to do _anything._

The darkness reached out and grabbed Lili's foot. As soon as it came into touch with her skin, she let out an agonized scream. More screams followed as the shadow devoured their naked bodies, crawling up their skin and literally eating them alive, just as it had done to Kara-san.

_If I don't do something, they'll die! I **have to do something…but what? What can I do? The very words bit deep into his heart and cut his very soul until her felt he would go crazy if he couldn't do **__something. Looking wildly around him, he suddenly caught sight of a figure, half-hidden by the shadows save for a bluish aura that outlined his or her figure. The figure stared at the scene before him/her, doing and saying nothing. Angered by the figure's idleness, he mustered up all the energy and strength he had and, with a superhuman effort, lifted his foot and took one giant, determined step forward, stepping loudly on a stray branch in the process._

Upon hearing the sound, the figure turned its head toward him slowly. The wind, which had now picked up and was now blowing stronger than ever, flew past the figure, whipping back the hood that had obscured its face before and leaving it uncovered. 

Although the darkness of the night concealed any specific features, he was able to recognize the figure to be a girl. She had long, dark hair that fell to her ankles and now flew past her in all directions. Her eyes seemed to glow in a fiery intensity, giving it a "red" color, penetrating through the darkness of the night. Her graceful figure continued to glow in that familiar bluish aura.

Taking another step forward, he blurted the first thing that came to his mind.

"Help them!"

The girl stared at him, eyes emotionless but still glowing with an inner fire. She finally inclined her eyes ever so slightly, and he thought he saw a single tear escape and run down her cheeks.

_No… the wind seemed to carry her soft, echoing voice. She looked at him, eyes slightly narrowed, and repeated her answer without moving her mouth. __No._

"What do you mean?" he demanded furiously, trying to yell over the guardians' screams.

_Don't you see? The girl inclined her head slightly, her mouth thinning to a tight line. __The curse of the armors…Our duties…**They did this!**_

"I don't care who did this!" he yelled back, more upset than ever. "You have to help them. I—I can't move!"

_Stay away… She turned and began to walk away, past him, past the screaming guardians. __Stay away…_

"Wait!" he struggled to go toward her but instead, fell to his stomach. "What do you mean?"

_Stay away…You **must stay away…**_

Ryo Sanada blinked, staring at the spotless white ceiling above him. In the distance, he could make out the faint sounds of chirping birds, the sure sign that dawn had broken. Night was finally gone.

Groaning slightly, he slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes thoughtfully as he did so. It had been two weeks; Two weeks since he began dreaming the same dream over and over again. Why was it different today, though? What did the girl mean when she told him to stay away?_ Why was the dream always coming back?_

Ryo sighed, running a hand frustratedly through his dark hair. A sudden, low growl emanated from under his bed, startling him out of his reverie.

"White Blaze!" he exclaimed softly. Reaching out, he gently petted the striped albino tiger. "I'm sorry," he finally murmured, throwing the tiger an apologetic grin. "I didn't mean to wake you."

White Blaze growled again and stared at his master thoughtfully, a single question shining through his dark eyes. Ryo saw the questioning look and, after a moment's pause, nodded wearily.

"_Yes, it was that dream again." He couldn't help but sigh once more as he swung his feet over the side and padded to the balcony window. Pulling the curtains gently aside, Ryo stared at the breathtaking view before him._

The sky was still mostly dark, yet he could make out a few wisps of faint red and orange sunlight already beginning to crown the horizon. The moon itself was just beginning to set, as were the stars that surrounded it. Glancing at the lake toward the distance, Ryo smiled when he caught sight of the reflection of one of the stars that didn't appear to be going away like the others. It continued to twinkle brightly amidst the half-bright, half-dark sky, as if smiling at him. 'Quinn,' he thought, a faint grin on his lips. Dropping his gaze, he allowed his thoughts to linger.

_What did the dream mean? The image of the guardians screaming in pain as he helplessly watched the shadow devour them filled his mind, allowing him to flinch inwardly at himself. He leaned against the door as White Blaze pattered next to him, nudging his leg._

"I don't get it White Blaze," he said softly, looking out into the horizon. "The girl…she warned me…to stay away. She wouldn't help the guardians." Upset, he banged his hand against the balcony. He couldn't erase the image of watching the guardians suffer while he was helpless to do anything…and it was upsetting him, more than he would admit.

"Come on," he finally sighed, his hand leaving White Blaze's head. Rummaging in a nearby drawer, he pulled a shirt over his head and slipped into a pair of loose jeans. After splashing his face with cold water from the sink and grabbing a pair of shoes, Ryo carefully slipped out of his room. With an open ear, he cautiously stole downstairs, trying not to disturb Mia as she continued to work in her computer room.

'She's been up all night again,' he noted as he opened the door softly and breathed in the cool morning air. He stared at the trees surrounding him, suddenly feeling calmed. After putting aside a few minutes to stretch, Ryo broke into a light jog, hoping to erase the image from his mind. White Blaze followed after him in a slow trot. After about a mile or so, he stopped, panting slightly. He had reached Shen's cliff, an outlook overlooking the city of Shinjuku. As he watched the city nightlights begin to fade away, his thoughts began to wander again, but this time, to different matters.

" 'Burning with heart's desire, a power yet unmatched by all,'" he recited softly to himself. He glanced at the tiger, who was now staring at him rather curiously. _Mia's been losing sleep just looking for all the guardians…she can't go on like this. Taking in a deep breath, Ryo put a hand on his waist as rays of orange and yellow light began to peek out from Shinjuku's tallest skyscraper._

"Well, guardian," he announced softly, watching as the sun finally rose over the city, "You better get ready. The Ronin Warriors are going to find you, whoever or wherever you are." His hand left his side to absently pet White Blaze and he nodded to himself, silently honoring the promise. "You can count on it!"


End file.
